Oyster-shucking knife.



PATENTED AUG. 21, 1906.

J. A. RAND. OYSTER SHUGKING KNIFE.

APPLICATION FILED JANLZQ. 1906.

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' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JACKSON ALLISON RAND, OF STARKVILLE, MISSISSIPPI, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO BENJAMIN F. BELL, OF STARKVILLE, MISSISSIPPI.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 21, 1906.

Application filed January 29,1906. Serial No. 298,462.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JACKSON ALLISON RAND, a citizen of the United States, residing at Starkville, in the county of Oktibbeha and State of Mississippi, have invented a new and useful Oyster-Shucking Knife, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to oyster-shucking lmives.

The object of the invention is to facilitate the shucki'ng of oysters by dispensing with the use of an ordinary hammer in breaking off the snout of the oyster-shell, whereby time lost in exchanging the hammer for the shucking-knife each time that an oyster is opened is saved and the work thereby greatly facilitated.

With the above and other objects in view, as will appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel construction and combination of parts of an oyster-shucking knife, as will be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and in which like characters of reference indicate oorresponding parts, Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of an oyster-shucking knife constructed in accordance with the present invention. Fig. 2 is a view in transverse section taken on the line 2 2, Fig. 1.

The knife embodies a handhold constituting a handle and designated generally 1 and a knife or blade 2. The handle is constructed of metal and is provided with four fingerloops 3 and an arched palm-rest 4, that is spaced throughout a greater portion of its length from the body of the utensil. The handhold is provided with a longitudinal channel 5, that extends throughout its entire length and in which the knife 2 is loosely mounted. One side of the handhold is provided with a longitudinal slot 6, that communicates with the channel and extends throughout a greater portion of its length and is furnished at that end which will be the outer one in use with a locking-notch 7, that is designed to be engaged bya latch 8, mounted in a transverse slot in the knife and held combined therewith by a pin 10, the handle 11 of the latch being disposed close to the side of the handhold, as clearly shown in Fig. 2, thus to obviate the presention of an obstruction. As will be noted by reference to Fig. 1,

the blade is of such length that when sheathed within the channel its terminals will be completely housed, so that injury that might otherwise occur should the knife protrude is obviated. In the use of the implement when the knife is moved to the position shown in Fig. 1 the operator inserts his fingers through the loops 3, thereby providing a hammer which will operate in a practical manner to break away the snout of the shells sufliciently to permit the knife readilyto be inserted between them, and thus remove the oyster.

The improvements herein defined while simple in character will be thoroughly efiicient for the purposes designed and will result in saving time and labor in shucking oysters.

I claim 1. An implement of the class described comprising a handhold having a plurality of finger-loops and a palm-rest and provided with a longitudinal channel which is slotted at one side lengthwise of the handhold and between the finger-loops and rest,'an adjustable blade mounted in the channel of the handhold which is provided with a trans verse slot at its inner end, a latch pivotally mounted at one end in the transverse slot on the blade and extending outwardly therefrom through the slot, and means on the handhold with which the latch engages for holding the blade in open position.

2. An implement of the class described, comprising a handhold provided with a longitudinal channel and a slot extending along the latter and provided with a notch at one end, a blade mounted movably in the chan-' nel of the handhold and provided with a transverse slot at its inner end, a latch pivoted at its inner end in said transverse slot and curved so that when the same engages the notch it lies close to the side of the handhold, and a pivot-pin extending from the inner end of the blade through the transverse slot for pivotally mounting the latch.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

J AOKSON ALLISON RAND.

Witnesses:

E. B. GILLESPIE, D. J. COCHRAN. 

